Good Judgment Call On Killing

March 22, 2004

State Attorney Barry Krischer stubbornly uses adult court to teach juveniles tough lessons about violent crime. But he has wisely veered from that course in the case against a 13-year-old Riviera Beach boy accused of killing his friend.

Rather than charge the boy with murder, Krischer's office is seeking manslaughter charges, meaning he will be treated just as he is: a juvenile.

Of course, Krischer won't take credit for any policy shift. As always, he says his decision in the death of 14-year-old David Walker was guided by the facts. But even facts are open to interpretation, and this time, Krischer's view was crystal clear.

The arrest report says the two boys were among several friends passing idle time at a Riviera Beach apartment complex on the evening of Feb. 10, flipping condom packages and guessing which side they would land on. After continually losing to Walker, the 13-year-old grabbed a .22-caliber handgun he had found on the ground, thinking it was a BB gun. He pointed the handgun at Walker, who slapped it away, causing the loaded weapon to fire a single deadly shot into Walker's chest.

Had prosecutors determined the boy intended to pull the trigger and harm his friend, they could have filed second-degree murder charges, a life felony that would have meant the boy's automatic transfer to adult court, despite his age. But because prosecutors say the facts pointed to manslaughter, an accidental death resulting from negligence, state law mandates that the case remain in juvenile court if the accused is younger than 14.

In other words, Krischer says, his hands were tied, so hold the applause. He adds that had the shooter been one year older, he would have exercised his option and forced the boy into adult court, following a firmly held policy to prosecute youths as adults whenever possible in violent circumstances.

The tough-guy act aside, Krischer's decision exercised discretion inherent in every judgment call. Prosecutors, for instance, could have argued that the 13-year-old was angry at his friend for beating him at their game, that he knew the weapon was no BB gun, that he knew it was loaded or that he meant to scare Walker -- any of which would have pointed to intent, to murder and to adult court.

The call was Krischer's to make, and this time, he chose manslaughter. This time, in effect, he chose juvenile court.